Page 145 of Homecoming

“Quieter than here in the winter?” Pete asked.

“Gansett is like a church compared to here.”

“Yikes,” Doug said. “Not sure I could deal with that.”

“It’s kind of nice after the summer madness,” Dan said. “We’ve become very fond of Gansett’s quiet off-season.”

“Not that it’s ever totally quiet,” Kara added. “We have a great group of friends who keep us very busy. There’s always something going on.”

“Do you ever get stir-crazy knowing you can’t jump in the car and go somewhere else?” Jessie asked.

“Not really,” Dan said. “We have friends at the ferry company, so we can get a car onboard more or less whenever we want. And we spend part of the winter in Southern California, which gives us a break from being isolated.”

“I never feel confined there,” Kara said. “It’s a very peaceful place to be marooned.”

“I can’t wait to see it,” Renata said. “After hearing about it for so many years.”

“Let’s plan something for the summer,” Dan said. “We’ll rent a big house so we can all stay together.”

“That’d be awesome,” Jessie said. “Yay, something fun to look forward to.”

“We have something else to look forward to,” Doug reminded his partner. “Do you want to tell them?”

Jessie hesitated, but only for a second. “Doug asked me to marry him, and I said yes.”

Kara was briefly stunned, as were Renata and Ellery, but they all rallied to hug their friends and congratulate them.

“I know what you’re all thinking,” Doug said. “That Jessie needs to move on from me after everything I’ve put her through, but I’ve worked really hard—and we’ve worked very hard as a couple. I’m optimistic that the bad stuff is behind us now.” He glanced at Jessie when he added, “There’s no one else I want to share the good stuff with than the one person who never gave up on me.”

Kara was surprised by the tears that filled her eyes. “I’m so happy for you guys. And so proud of you both for what you’ve worked through together.”

“We all are,” Ellery added, dabbing at her own eyes. “When’s the big day?”

“We’re hoping for next fall,” Jessie said. “You guys will be my bridesmaids, right?”

“Try and stop us,” Renata said for all of them.

After Jessieand Ellery and the others left, Dan and Kara hung out to help clean up. “This was really fun,” Kara said to Renata. “Thanks for organizing it.”

Myles rolled up his sleeves to wash the dishes.

Kara gave Renata an impressed look that had her cousin shrugging. “Can I borrow that sweater we talked about?”

“What?”

Kara tipped her head toward Renata’s bedroom.

“Oh,” Renata said with big eyes that nearly made Kara laugh. “Yeah, sure, come with me to try it on.”

Kara followed her into the bedroom. “You used to be quicker on the uptake.”

“No shit, right? It’s Myles. He scrambles my brain.”

“He’d doing the dishes. Without being asked.”

“I noticed that.”

“He’s very cute.”

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